Golden
by Thalia the Huntress
Summary: He was Golden, but when she died, his whole world came crashing down. He might be their Golden Boy, but when he thinks of gold that's not what comes to his mind. A Haymitch-centric post 50th Hunger Games drabble series. Haysilee! R&R
1. Crown

**AN:This is my new drabble series! Hope you enjoy.**

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><p><em>I. Crown<em>

He knows it's over the second he hears the cannon fire and sees the pink birds leave her body. He is going to win.

It isn't hard, really, to lure the last career to the edge of the arena. He knows that she thirsts for his blood, that she isn't going to stop until one of them are dead. So, he meets her on his playing field. He knows that she isn't really his last obstacle. That has already been torn down. So, they meet on the edge of the arena, and his mind works overtime until it happens. He sees the flash of gold and hits the ground. No, she wasn't his last obstacle. That was another girl, the gold to this one's silver.

Then, the inevitable streak of silver cuts through the air an another final cannon fires. He thinks he hears music, but really, his mind is already somewhere else, somewhere darker than the music, the lights, the laughter. His mind is with her.

The ceremonies and practices are all a blur, but the moment he steps on the stage and sees the crown he is about to be presented, _everything_ grinds to a halt. Not because he won. No, definitely not that. For a moment he thinks of gold, and her, and what could have been and is almost happy. Almost.

But then the crowd starts cheering and he feels lower than he ever thought possible. For a second he hates every last one of them, but plasters a snarky, indifferent look on his face because he knows that she is gone and he is not, and he cannot change that, no matter how much he may want to. (And oh, how he wants to). Then the crown is placed on his head, and he sees gold again, gold everywhere.

It is in that moment that he realizes that he can keep her alive. No, not only her, but all of them. They will live on in him, and he will fight for them.

So, he straightens up. Even smiles a bit. If there was one thing he learned in the arena, it was that they love a show, no matter what it costs.

And if it's a show they want?

Then he'll be sure to give them one.

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><p><strong>And here is the first chapter! For anyone reading my other HG story, Ocean Eyes, the muse has kind of departed on that. I will finish it eventually though. ANYWAY, review and tell me what other prompts you would like to see in this drabble series! (The more prompts submitted, the quicker an idea will hit and the quicker I can write a new chapter). Hope you liked it!<strong>


	2. Boy

**AN: Hope you enjoy.**

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><p><em>II. Boy<em>

He comes home to a hailstorm of applause. It starts the second he steps off the train.

He's the only living victor from District 12, and they adore him. It makes him laugh a little on the inside, but he pushes it down. It bubbles back up, momentarily when he sees his mother in the crowd, but dies as soon as he sees her. She looks the same as she did before they left, and for a minute he wants to run to her (oh how he wants to) and grab her and never let go.

Then he sees her eyes. They are hard, and cold, and sad, and everything that her eyes shouldn't be. And he realizes who she is.

She, the not-her-girl, sees him looking and her eyes soften, just the smallest fraction. She nods once, and in that one nod he knows that she knows exactly what he is thinking.

Then she leaves. Without the eyes fixed on him, he can almost pretend that it is her gold hair, and that she is here, and alive, and hates him like before. (Because if he is being truthful he would rather her be alive and indifferent than dead and in love). He watches the gold hair (not red, he reminds himself, never red, like it had been the last time he had seen her), the beautiful golden hair (not red like in his dreams), as she walks away, and finally he thinks of his girl. The not-here-anymore girl. The forget-me-not girl.

He turns back to the crowd and forces a smile on his face. He thinks he sees a girl faint. This time he really laughs, and it shakes his entire body.

The crowd goes silent and he stops. Finally, a small child with long knotted blonde hair and grey seam eyes (his eyes? he thinks) hands him a small golden key. He doesn't hear what the escort says behind him, because he is too concentrated on what could have been. Finally he shakes his head and she is gone, and in her place is a girl looking at him with admiration in her eyes. He scoffs and shrugs and walks off. The girl had brown hair (or was it red?).

They scream in agony (they've never felt real agony) as he leaves, and another laugh sputters out.

He slips under the fence (as if there really needs to be a fence) and walks and walks and walks until he is lost. So, he sits. And thinks. Of him. Of her. Of the girl (which girl? he isn't so sure anymore). Of the key wrapped in his hand.

He thinks and thinks and time slips away until the sky is ablaze and he looks up and it is glorious. It is gold. He watches and thinks and remembers and laughs and is happy (when was the last time he felt like this?).

He's District 12's _Golden Boy. _The very thought of it makes him laugh once again. He is Golden, but when she died, his whole world came crashing down.

He might be their Golden Boy, but when he thinks of gold that's not what comes to his mind.

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><p><strong>Reviews are golden! And send me some ideas for prompts you would like to see! :)<strong>


	3. Key

**AN: Hope you enjoy. And thanks to anonymous reviewers hungergames1 and Me, and KattyHunger for the reviews! :)**

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><p><em>III. Key<em>

He's still laughing when he sneaks into the Victor's Village at dawn.

He knows him mother and brother are in their little shack, sound asleep, and he heads that way. He stops at the entrance to the Victors' Village. The sprawling houses sit in the soft golden sunrise, long dark, and long empty. He knows one was occupied, ages ago, but it too is long deserted.

A little curious, he enters. In his pocket, he can feel a small golden key weighing him down. He lifts it out and holds it for a second, turning it over, and remembering the feeling of it being pressed into his hand. And the girl who pressed it there. Deep down he wants it (he does), but it feels wrong to take it when he thinks of why he has it (and of the regular cast of characters that haunt his dreams), he knows he can't want it, can't take it. So he throws it, watching as it arches high above the houses, glinting gold in the sun. Watching as it hits the roof of a house not too far off. Watching as it slides down and hits the ground. And, because this is the Victor's Village and the grass is always cut, it's still gold.

He rolls his eyes and turns to leave, but stops before he gets too far. It's still gold. He thinks again of why he has it (and again of the regular cast of characters that haunt his dreams), and he knows he has to take it, has to make something of himself. After all, it's why she (and all of them, he reminds himself) aren't here any more, and he knows that he needs to make that worth something.

So, he returns and finds the golden key, picks it up and looks at it. He tries it in every lock until he finds the one that opens (he was too fixated on the not-her-girl to pay attention to which house was his) and steps inside. A layer of dust covers the interior, and he momentarily feels a small sense of unity with the rest of the district. He doesn't like it (at least not yet), but he will tolerate it. After all, there is something to be said for a house, even one as showy as this. And he is a Victor, and he needs to provide hope to the people. He moves through it slowly, turning on every single light until the house is glowing.

The houses outside are still dark, still quiet.

But not for long.

No, he thinks to himself and smiles, not for long.

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><p><strong>Reviews are golden! And send me some ideas for prompts you would like to see! :)<strong>


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